Home Technology Association Announces Call for Entries for Best in the U.S. Awards

Home Technology Association Announces Call for Entries Now Open for 2018 “Best in the U.S.” Awards

The Home Technology Association is on the hunt for the best residential integration firms in the United States, entries being accepted until October 1st, 2018

Santa Monica, CA (August 2018) –The Home Technology Association—the first independent organization to empower and educate homeowners, recognize exceptional businesses, and offer a rigorous third-party certification process—announces the first annual “Best In The U.S.” Awards for residential integration firms. The Home Technology Association (HTA) is excited to award the very best integrators in the country based on overall performance and quality.

“This is the first time that any association has given a technology firm an award for its overall performance and quality. Other awards or lists are focused on revenues or have been given on individual projects. Consumers want to know which firms excel in the field and have a proven track record of excellence,” says Josh Christian, Director of Certification for HTA. “The Home Technology Best in the U.S. Awards will answer those questions without any bias towards what brand the company sells or how much of it they sell.”

The HTA Best In The U.S. awards has three tiers. Black is the highest award level, given to the firms that execute at the highest level the most technically and operationally challenging projects in their markets. The Platinum tier is awarded to companies with a proven history of excellence in delivering technically complex projects and providing excellent customer service. The third award tier, Gold, is awarded to companies that have a proven track record of technical proficiency and delivering outstanding experiences to consumers on simpler-scale projects.

While other awards or lists may be biased to the integrators who are larger and have more purchasing power, the HTA is focused only on quality and performance. A small integrator with a few employees has the same opportunity to achieve the highest award tier as a large firm with dozens of employees.

“Consumers want the best technology experience possible. Every city in the U.S. is different. Sometimes the best experience is from a small integrator and sometimes it is from the biggest firm in town. Our goal is to connect consumers with the best firm for their installation. This is how we contribute to raising the bar in the AV industry,” adds Christian.

Integrators who achieve this honor will be proud to announce that their company will be in the Top 1% of integrators nationwide. Dealers who win the Best in the U.S. award have a unique advantage in the marketplace, something that legitimately differentiates them from companies that just claim to be technology experts. Best in the U.S. winners go through a vetting process that checks the integrators technical proficiency, customer service, aftercare support, and reputation in the marketplace. Clients want as much assurance that the firm they hire is qualified, and this award gives them added assurance. The Home Technology Association will provide a certificate to the winner as well as digital marketing materials to promote this award on social media, the web, and print. A custom designed glass trophy will be made available after the awards are announced.

How to Apply
To apply for 2018 Best in the U.S., simply go to https://htacertified.org/apply. The same application for certification is used for the Award entries. The deadline for applications is October 1st, 2018. There will be no extensions, so businesses are encouraged to apply now.

The requirements for applications are as follows:

For current HTA Certified firms, there is no fee and no additional paperwork needs to be completed.

For non-HTA Certified firms, the applicant must completely fill out all information in the application by October 1st, 2018. Applicant must pay $400 application/certification fee and maintain HTA Certification standards for a minimum of 60 days.

The final list of award-winners will be announced in December 2018.

About the Home Technology Association
The Home Technology Association (HTA) was formed to create a preeminent standard of excellence for the Custom Installation (CI) industry. HTA Certification is a rigorous to achieve standard that homeowners, builders, architects, and interior designers can rely on to find the very best residential technology integrators for their projects. Technology integrators who have passed a demanding 60+ point vetting process that focuses on solid customer service and aftercare support and a positive business reputation will be HTA Certified and part of an elite group of dedicated, highly skilled firms. These stringent criteria was developed by industry veterans and refined by the HTA Board of Advisors, which includes top executives from Sony, Lutron, Crestron, Control4, Savant, and more.

The mission of the Home Technology Association is to raise the bar in the CI industry by giving exceptional integrators a prestigious third-party endorsement they can use to differentiate their offering and ultimately, win more projects. Not only does this drive more business to the integration community, it also ensures consumers have consistently great technology experiences. The result will be a dramatic transformation of the reputation and overall presence of the integration community and those who serve it. Learn more by visiting HTACertified.org and by following @HTACertified on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

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